Guide to the Fred Terry Rogers papers, 1929-1956
MS 029

creator

Rogers, Fred Terry

Title:

Fred Terry Rogers papers

Dates:

1929-1956

Abstract:

The Fred Terry Rogers papers are a record of Fred and Marguerite Rogers' distinguished careers in academia and physics from 1931 to 1956 and consists primarily of correspondence, research and lecture notes and published works. Subjects include Beta-particle decay, the fractureof metals, the U.S. Naval Ordinance Test Station, convection currents in porous media, ballistics penetration and university research and course work.

Fred Terry Rogers (1914-1956) was a notable geophysicist, astrophysicist, mathematician and university professor during the 1930s through the 1950s. He was born in Henderson, Kentucky but was raised in Dallas, Texas from the age of seven. Rogers attended the Rice Institute in Houston, Texas from 1931 to 1939 where he received both his undergraduate and graduate training in physics and mathematics. His professional career started at the Rice Institute as a research assistant and continued at a number of other academic institutions and government agencies. While at Rice, Rogers met his future wife, Marguerite Moilliet, who also was studying physics at the Institute. They married in 1937 and became a research team during World War II. They had two children, Alexander and Fred Terry III. Fred Terry Rogers died in 1956 whille working at the University of South Carolina.

The Fred Terry Rogers Papers, consisting of 13 document boxes and twenty-five bound volumes, are a record of the professional career in academia and physics of Fred and Marguerite Rogers from 1931 to 1956. This collection is comprised primarily of correspondence, research and lecture notes and published works.

These papers provide a detailed record of Fred and Marguerite's work during their studies and employment at a number of academic and government institutions. From their early beginnings at the Rice Institute in the 1930s, this collection follows these two scientists to the Universities of Chicago, California, New Mexico and Houston, through the Lukas-Harold Corporation and Naval Ordnance Plant during the Second World War, to the Naval Research Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Naval Ordnance Test Station and the Universities of North and South Carolina. Much of their research did not stop at one particular institution but spanned over a number of them and lasted several years. Particular research areas include: Beta-particle decay, the fracture of metals, radioactivity, convection currents and ballistic penetration.

In addition to his research work, Fred Rogers also had duties as a lecturer at some of the scholarly institutions that employed him. Both Fred and Marguerite belonged to a number of professional societies that reflected their interests such as the American Physical Society, the American Mathematics Society, and the American Society of University Professors. The information in this collection, therefore, is quite varied and provides a deep look into the lives, work and interests of physical scientists from the 1930s to the 1950s

The Fred Terry Rogers Papers came to Rice University in November of 1969 via the American Institute of Physics. Marguerite Rogers sent the papers to the American Institute of Physics in 1968 for examination and recommendation concerning a permanent repository.

Series I: Professional career, 1931-1956 (10 boxes)

Scope and Contents note

This series contains correspondence, reports, research notes and published works created by Fred and Maguerite Rogers created when they worked among specific organizations. Because the two worked as a team for much of their careers, no effort was made to separate these records and the records have been maintained in the Rogers' original order. Some of the subjects in this series include: Beta-particle decay, the fracture of metals, the United States Naval Ordiance Test Station, convection currents in porpus media, ballistics penetration and university research and coursework.

University of Houston: Course Outline - Elementary Electricity and Radio Material, 1942

9

University of North Carolina: Committees - Administrative Council of the Bureau of Business Services and Research, Dec. 1947 - Apr. 1948

10

University of North Carolina: Committees - Advisory Board for the Institute of Fisheries Research and Development, Oct. 1947 - Jul. 1948

11

University of North Carolina: Committees - All-University Committee on Copperation with the Research Program of the Institute of Nuclear Studies at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Feb. - Mar. 1948

12

University of North Carolina: Committees - Committee on Promotion Policies - American Association of University Professors, Dec. 1947 - Mar. 1948

Series II: Subject Files, 1929-1956 (3 boxes)

Scope and Contents note

These files contain materials involving the Rogers' private interests and which were not directly associated with any individual organization which employed either Fred or Marguerite Rogers. Formats include correspondence, research notes, meeting programs, published works, and more. Subjects include the American Physical Society, the High Speed Impact Symposium 1955, the War Manpower Commission and Selective Service and Galvanometry.

Series III: Bound Voumes (25 bound volumes)

Scope and Contents note

This series includes twenty-five bound volumes of notes and published works featuring the undergraduate and graduate work of both Fred and Marguerite Rogers while at the Rice Institute, published research and notes on their early research in the 1940s. Subjects include university coursework, astrophysics and war training courses.

Box

Volume

14

1

Lab Miscellany: Fred Rogers, 1932 - 1940

2

Advanced lab Notes: Fred Rogers, 1933 - 1935

3

Thesis: A Collection of Papers - Fred Rogers, 1935 - 1939

4a

Published Papers: Fred Rogers, 1936 - 1945

4b

papers and Reprints: Fred Rogers, 1936 - 1943

5

Navy: Naval Elementary Electricity and Radio Material at the University of Houston - Fred Rogers, 1942